During the visit of Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel to San Antonio del Sur, in the province of Guantánamo, a man in charge of 29 children at a special school reported that the government took them to that location and abandoned them, just before Hurricane Oscar made landfall on October 20.
The statement was made in the context of the severe flooding caused by the cyclone, which resulted in a preliminary toll of seven deaths in that municipality of Guantanamo.
Likewise, in response to Díaz-Canel, who stated this Wednesday upon arriving in the affected area that "no Cuban has been left to fend for themselves" in this natural disaster.
"They left us all alone there with 29 children, I had to evacuate my five children, we almost drowned," replied the visibly distressed man, while the official tried to justify the government's actions.
The affected person stated that the authorities had promised to leave a rescue team in case the river overflowed, but they did not fulfill that promise.
"The government took us there (to the special school) and left us alone. They said they were going to leave a team in case the river overflowed and left us alone. I had to rescue these people with the help of another," he said.
Díaz-Canel responded to the criticism by assuring that the government's intention was to evacuate people at risk. "The fact is that you were brought here to evacuate you, but the phenomenon exceeded everything. We will investigate that," he commented, trying to reassure those present.
The situation in Guantánamo remains tense, and those affected by the hurricane have expressed their frustration over the lack of support and resources during the crisis. Many family members are seeking help to locate individuals who are still missing, while the regime has confirmed the death of seven people as a result of the flooding.
San Antonio del Sur and Imías are the municipalities most affected by the passage of Oscar, and Díaz-Canel arrived in the area three days after the disaster, assuring that "All of Cuba is in support of you. (...) Rest assured that you are not alone, nor abandoned," said the leader to the Guantanamo population.
Hurricane Oscar arrived in the eastern region in the early days of the general blackout in the country. People were not well informed about the magnitude of the storm due to the lack of electricity that kept most of them cut off.
Many families in rural areas were unable to evacuate in time and have lost everything: their animals, their crops, their properties, and some have even lost their lives.
According to official figures, only 15,000 people were evacuated in Guantánamo: 9,000 in Imías and 6,000 in San Antonio del Sur.
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